Retrieval method using image information

ABSTRACT

For retrieving attribute information through image information which is not linked with the attribute information: displaying on a display screen the first image information corresponding with attribute information and second image information that has a common attribute with the first image information; and storing a correspondence between the first image information and the second image information in response to an input of an instruction to confirm the correspondence between the first image information and the second image information, and retrieving and displaying the attribute information on the basis of the stored correspondence between the first image information and the second image information as well as correspondence information between the first image information and the attribute information, in response to an input for object choice indicated by the second image information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to retrieving attribute information aboutan object represented in image information, more particularly,geographic information.

There is prior art for displaying geographic (map) information andattribute information about individual objects contained in the map whenthere is correspondence therebetween, choosing an object in thegeographic information, and retrieving attribute informationcorresponding to the chosen object. For example, the local-governmentmap system, "ARISTOWN", which is described in PIXEL (No. 56, pp. 73-78)is for framing a policy by using a map and administrative information,which is road information and ground information, together. This systemprovides connection between geographic information represented byvectors and descriptive data (attribute information). Features of thesystem are the retrieval of an administrative file on the basis ofcorrespondence information between the administrative file and a mapdatabase for the computer processing of maps.

In the above-mentioned prior art, if attribute information is to beretrieved on the basis of the shapes or positional relations of objectspresent on displayed geographic information, a vector map whichrepresents the objects by using vectors is prepared in advance, and, inaddition, a correspondence which links the vector map and thedescriptive data (attribute information) to each other is input. Forthis reason, to retrieve attribute information by using a map, first ofall, it is necessary to prepare a vector map and input a correspondence.This work leads to the problems of consumed time and high cost.

To solve these problems, it has been considered to use an image mapinstead of the vector map. One example of correspondence informationbetween image information, such as drawings or maps, and attributeinformation associated with the image information is introduced in "SCI'93", the proceedings of the thirty-seventh, research-supporting lecturemeeting held by the Institute of Systems' Control and InformationEngineers, pp. 275-276, 1993. This publication discloses the preparationof link data for linking text DB information to image information. Inthe publication, map information is one example of image information andit is proposed to increase the efficiency of linking objects displayedon an image map to descriptive data (attributes).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to analyze problems in theprior art and provide solutions.

In general, a plurality of kinds of maps are present with respect to onedistrict, according to different uses. For example, there are atopographical map which shows the topography of land, a city planningchart which shows the utilization of land or roads or facilities, aresidence map on which the householders or individual households aredescribed, a road map on which main roads are described in detail, a mapwhich shows the location of underground buried facilities such as gaspipes or water pipes, a route map which shows traffic, and a cadastralmap which shows numbers peculiar to individual lots.

Even if image map information representative of one of these pluralityof kinds of maps and attribute information are linked, the attributeinformation and image map information representative of another kind ofmap of the same district are not automatically linked. For this reason,it has been impossible to retrieve attribute information by choosing anobject contained in image information which is not linked with theattribute information.

A similar problem occurs where drawings or photographs are handled asthe image information. For example, when one has a plurality of kinds ofdrawings or photographs which show the structures of components ormachines, such as side elevational or cross-sectional views showing onecomponent or machine and a photograph of an external appearance of sucha component or machine, if attribute information is linked with one ofthe drawings, it will be possible to retrieve the attribute informationby using the linked drawing. However, as in the case of the mapinformation, it has been impossible to retrieve the attributeinformation by using another drawing which is not linked with theattribute information.

An object of the present invention is to retrieve attribute informationthrough image information which is not linked with the attributeinformation.

Another object is to easily link image information displayed.

Another object is to display images in detail for a wide area on arestricted display screen with a clear understanding of thecorrespondence between images.

In order to retrieve attribute information not linked to imageinformation, the image information is displayed and correspondence(linkage) between a displayed object and other image information isconfirmed to retrieve attribute information already linked to the otherimage information. To easily find individual objects at this time, whilethe entire image information is being displayed, the respective parts ofthe image information which contain the objects concerned are magnified.

In accordance with the present invention, the above-described problemsare solved. Image information linked with attribute information ishereinafter called first image information, and image information whichapproximately positionally corresponds to the first image information iscalled second image information and is not linked to the attributeinformation. Specifically, an object contained in the second imageinformation is used as a key, and the attribute information linked withthe first image information is retrieved by inputting a correspondencebetween the second image information and the first image information viathe key, i.e. by selecting an object in the second image information.

Correspondence between a selected object in the second image informationand a corresponding object or position in the first image information isstored in response to the inputting, e.g. inputting of an instructionconfirming a displayed correspondence between the first imageinformation and the second image information, and attribute informationis retrieved on the basis of the thus stored correspondence as well aslinkage information between the first image information and theattribute information in response to the inputting, e.g. the inputtingof an object choice indicated by the second image information. The firstimage information, if displayed, is preferably erased from the displayscreen, in response to the inputting.

There are user choices of display and operation, including: overlyingthe second image information with the second image information, or viceversa in display; moving either the displayed first image information orthe displayed second image information to correct the overlying relationbetween the display positions of the first image information and thesecond image information; and changing the area of overlay, causing newareas of the first image information to overlie the second imageinformation. Accordingly, the attribute information is retrieved inresponse to inputting of an object choice from the second imageinformation, as if through the inputting the second image informationand the attribute information were directly connected to each other.

The display of unnecessary image information is suppressed, wherebyimage information can be more definitely displayed.

By overlaying the displaying of second image information with the firstimage information in a single area, a wide area is displayed as comparedto displaying a plurality of pieces of image information in separatedisplay areas. In addition, by partly magnifying and displaying eitheror both of the overlying first image information and the overlain secondimage information, in such a manner as to view a map through amagnifying glass, it is possible to facilitate the inputting ofcorrespondence information about detailed maps.

Even if the displayed first image information and the displayed secondimage information do not accurately overlie, moving one of the twodisplayed images as a part of the inputting will correct correspondenceand obtain necessary attribute information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more clear from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment, described with respect to the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of the system of FIG. 1 in different form;

FIG. 3 shows a link information file table in storage of FIG. 1 andlinking first and second linkage information;

FIG. 4 shows one example of correspondence between the first and secondimages;

FIG. 5 shows a link information file table in storage of FIG. 1 andlinking an image and attributes;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the entire process of operating the systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the retrieval step of the process of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the object choosing step of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the storing correspondence step of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 10(a) to 10(e) show screen display examples used in operating thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11(a) to 11(e) show screen display examples used in operating thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 12(a) to 12(f) show screen display examples used in operating thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a mode of operation for the system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a mode of operation for the system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 15 shows screen display examples used in operating the system ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 16 shows screen display examples used in operating the system ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the description of the present embodiment, maps are one example ofimage information, while a resident database is one example of attributeinformation. The maps geographically (more broadly, physically)represent locations (or more broadly positionally) of objects such as:roads or railway tracks, facilities or buildings such as railwaystations, airports and ports, and topography such as mountains, rivers,lakes, marshes or seas. Large-scale maps (that is enlarged) furtherrepresent smaller objects such as: telegraph poles, signposts, signals,roadside trees and the like. Maps for specific uses also describeunderground buried facilities, which are objects such as water pipes,gas pipes or sewers.

Each of these constituent elements, such as buildings, of the map isreferred to as an "object" that is an identifiable portion of displayedimage information. Districts which are separated on the basis ofphysical conditions, such as roads or rivers, or artificially separateddistricts, such as administrative districts, are each also referred toas an "object".

In FIG. 1, at least two files of image information, i.e., first imageinformation 1 and second image information 2, are employed, even thoughthree or more may be used with the system at the same time. A residencemap is one example of the first image information 1. The residence mapis made up of objects 3 each of which represents the site (physicallocation) of a different household in the image. The respective objects3 are linked to the attribute information stored in an attributeinformation file 4. This linkage is stored in a link information file 5(shown in more detail in FIG. 5) for linking image objects andattributes. As one example of the second image information 2, a road mapwhich describes the status of roads is employed. The second imageinformation 2 has no stored direct linkage with the attributeinformation, but does have direct unstored correspondence to the firstimage information 1 only in physical positional relation. For example,two parts, objects of the first and second image information correspondto each other as indicated by an arrow A of FIG. 1, and portions thereofrepresent a positionally identical area. The correspondence (inputted bythe user) between an object represented by the first image information 1and an object represented by the second image information 2 is stored ina link information file 6 (shown in more detail in FIG. 3). The firstand second image information is stored in respective locations of animage information file 7. Each of the aforesaid files 4, 5, 6, 7, whichare separately shown for ease of explanation, may be stored in a singlestorage unit.

Preferably the first image information 1 and at least part of the secondimage information 2 are displayed on an output device 11 (e.g. a screen)of FIG. 2, and a user inputs a choice of an object 3 from the display ofthe second image information 2 for which attribute information is to beretrieved. Then, in response to the user input, an instruction confirmsa correspondence between the first image information 1 and the secondimage information 2 with respect to the object 3, and the correspondenceis stored in response to the input. The attribute information isretrieved on the basis of the stored correspondence between first andsecond image information and the stored linkage between the first imageinformation and the attribute information, and the retrieved attributeinformation that is a result 8 of this retrieval is displayed. In thismanner, e.g., a portion of the residence database (attribute informationfile 4) is retrieved by reference to a road map (second imageinformation 2) for which there is no linkage with the residencedatabase, by using the linked second image information 2 and thepositional relationship between images as a key.

In FIG. 2, a storage unit 9, an input device 10, an output device 11, adisplay buffer memory 12, a main memory 13 for storing a program whichwill be described later, and a central processing unit (CPU) 14 areconnected to one another by a system bas 15. The main memory 13 stores aretrieval program 16 to retrieve a database, display control program 17,a program 18 to determine correspondence between images, a program 19 toreceive input of an object for basis of retrieval, and a program 20 tostore a correspondence between images. If the main memory 13 has asufficient capacity, all the files 4, 5, 6, 7 may be stored on the mainmemory 13 without using the storage unit 9. The programs 16, 17, 18, 19,20 on the main memory 13 may be stored in the storage unit 9 so thatthey can be read into the main memory 13 at system startup.

A link information table 30 of FIG. 3 provides linkage informationbetween images and is in the file 6. The preparation of data which linksimage information and attribute information can be accomplished bygenerating information indicative of correspondence information betweenattribute information and image information which are displayed on ascreen, and by choosing a character string representative of a key of acorresponding target by use of a cursor displayed in the characterstring, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-149532/1994,corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 08/144,838.

The table 30 is made up of a column 31 which contains object numbers ofthe first image information 1, a column 32 which contains coordinates ofthe objects in the first image information 1, a column 33 which containsobject numbers of the second image information 2, and a column 34 whichcontains coordinates of the objects in the second image information 2.The image numbers peculiar to the first image information 1 are storedin the "IMAGE NO." column 31, while a plurality of coordinatesindicative of the position of an area occupied by one object in theimage information 1 are stored in the "X, Y" column 32. Similarly,predetermined values are stored in the "IMAGE NO." column 33 and in the"X, Y" column 34 for the second image information 2. For example, if apoint 40 indicative of a particular object contained in the first imageinformation 1 and a point 41 indicate of a particular object containedin the second image information 2 correspond with each other as shown inFIG. 4, "1" and "2" are respectively stored in the "IMAGE NO." column 31and the "IMAGE NO." column 33, as shown in a row 35 of FIG. 3. Inaddition, a set of coordinates of an area which contains (X1', Y1') isstored in the "X, Y" column 32, while a set of coordinates of an areawhich contains (X2', Y2') is stored in the "X, Y" column 34.

A link information table 50 between images and attributes is stored inthe file 5 for each set of image information and attribute information.The construction of such a table 50 will be described with reference toFIG. 5. The table 50 includes a column 51 for identification (databasenumber and record number) of each information indicated by the attributeinformation, a column 52 for identification of image number informationcorresponding with the attribute information, and an X, Y column 53 fora plurality of coordinates indicative of the position of an areaoccupied by an object in the image information.

If the part of each of the tables stored in the files 5 and 6 thatcorresponds to a map containing a retrieval target is loaded in a mainmemory 13, the speed of processing can be increased.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the system is started the image information 7is read from the storage unit 9 and displayed on the output device 11 inaccordance with the program 17 (Step 100). One example of the screendisplayed on output device 11 at this time is shown in FIG. 10(a). Thescreen is made up of a display area 101 for display of the first imageinformation 1 and a display area 102 for display of the second imageinformation 2.

Then, if an instruction to retrieve attribute information correspondingto the displayed image information is input through the input device 10,associated information is read from the storage unit 9 in accordancewith the program 16, so that a retrieval is executed while displayingthe status of the retrieval on the output device 11 (Step 200). Thedetails of the retrieval process 200 will be described with reference tothe flowcharts of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 as well as the screen displayexamples shown in FIG. 10.

In the retrieval process (Step 200), as shown in FIG. 7, an object toretrieve the attribute information 4 is chosen to correspond between theimage information (Step 210). The resultant correspondence informationis stored in the file 6 (Step 240), the first image information 1 iserased from the display screen (Step 220), and a retrieval of attributeinformation about the chosen object is executed (Step 230). By erasingthe image information 1 from the display screen, the user is informedthat the resultant correspondence information has been stored, to informthe user of the status of progress of the retrieval. Also, if Step 220is executed after Step 230, the user is informed of the completion ofretrieval of attribute information by erasing the first imageinformation 1 from the display screen.

The choice of object that thereby causes the image information tocorrespond thereto (Step 210) will be described below with reference toFIG. 8. An object in the displayed second image information 2 is chosenby the input device 10 in accordance with the program 19 (Step 2100).For example, as shown in FIG. 10(a), a cursor 103 is moved onto anobject to be chosen, and an instruction to choose the object is input.The cursor 103 for choosing the object may be manipulated by a mouse ora pen input device, or may also be chosen by moving a finger or hand ona touch panel attached to the display screen.

Then, it is determined whether a correspondence relative to the objectinput in Step 2100 is already present in the file 6 (Step 2110). If nocorrespondence is present, a correspondence is stored (Step 240). Ifthere is a correspondence, this correspondence is displayed inaccordance with the program 17 (Step 2130). FIG. 10(c) shows one exampleof a screen on which the correspondence is displayed. One method ofdisplaying the correspondence is to display a part 105 in the firstimage information 1 that corresponds to a chosen object 104 in thesecond image information 2, in a manner different from the manner inwhich the other parts are displayed. Such different displays can berealized by varying the luminance, color, shape, pattern or linethickness of the part 105 or be blinking the display of the part 105.

Otherwise, a cursor may be displayed on the part 105 in the first imageinformation 1 that is corresponding with the part 104 in the secondimage information 2. In this case, the cursor is displayed in a mannerdifferent from the manner in which the cursor 103 is displayed. Bydisplaying the cursor in such a different manner, it is possible toinform the user that a correspondence between objects is already presentand the process waits for confirmation. In addition, the user can know aprocess which can next be executed, while inputting a correspondence orsearching for a retrieval target, whereby the efficiency of theretrieval process can be improved.

The user determines whether it is necessary to change thecorrespondence, while viewing the display of the correspondence such asthat shown in FIG. 10(c). If it is necessary to change thecorrespondence, the user inputs an instruction to change thecorrespondence. It is determined (Step 2140) whether the correspondencehas been changed according to the input instruction. If there is achange in the correspondence, the process proceeds to Step 240, in whichthe process of storing the correspondence is executed. If there is nochange in the correspondence, the process proceeds to Step 2150.

In Step 2150, an input for confirming the correspondence is requested inaccordance with the program 18. One method of providing an input forconfirming the correspondence is to choose a confirmation area 107(called "OK button") as shown in FIG. 10(c). In FIG. 10(c), as a methodof providing an input for confirming the correspondence, there is shownan area for receiving the input for confirming the correspondence, in anarea different from the corresponding part 105 in the first imageinformation 1. By so disposing the area for receiving the input forconfirming the correspondence, an input of the position of thecorresponding part is distinguished from an input for confirming thecorrespondence.

In another method of providing the input for confirming thecorrespondence, the cursor 106 is moved to the corresponding part 105and the correspondence is confirmed in a different way from that ofinputting the position of the corresponding part 105. For example, thecorrespondence is confirmed by pressing another mouse button differentfrom the one for inputting the position, or by pressing one buttonwithin a predetermined time after the same button is depressed for aposition input.

As described above, by inputting the correspondence between positionsdifferent from the input for confirming the correspondence, it ispossible to provide the two inputs in the same area. Accordingly, sincethere is no need to move the cursor for providing an input forconfirming the correspondence, it is possible to prevent the user fromlosing sight of an object by looking away from the map. Accordingly,efficient confirmation of the correspondence is possible.

The process of storing the resultant correspondence information (Step240) will be described below with reference to FIG. 9. First, in FIG.10(c), the part in the first image information 1 corresponding to theobject in the second image information 2 which has been chosen in Step2100 is chosen in accordance with the program 18 (Step 2200). The area104 shown in FIG. 10(b) is the object chosen in Step 2100, and the partindicated by the cursor 103 is that chosen in Step 2200.

The chosen correspondence is displayed in accordance with the program 17(Step 2210), and it is determined whether there is a change in thecorrespondence (Step 2200). If there is a change in the correspondence,the process returns to Step 2220. If there is no change in thecorrespondence, the process waits for an input for confirming thecorrespondence (Step 2230). Steps 2210 through 2230 are similar to Steps2130 through 2150 shown in FIG. 8. In response to the input forconfirming the correspondence in FIG. 2230, the correspondence is storedin the file 6 in accordance with the program 20 (Step 2240).

In response to the storing of the correspondence, the first imageinformation 1 is erased from the display screen (Step 220) and the partin the attribute information 4 which corresponds to the part chosen inthe first image information 1 is retrieved by referring to the linkinformation file 5 linking images and attributes (Step 230), and theretrieval process is brought to an end (Step 200). Only a retrieval ofthe attribute information 4 may be executed without erasing the displayscreen for display of the first image information 1, in response to thestoring of the correspondence.

Finally, the output of the result 8 of the retrieval executed in tileretrieval process (Step 200) shown in FIG. 6 will be described below. Asshown in FIG. 6, the result 8 of the retrieval executed in Step 220 inaccordance with the program 17, i.e., the attribute information 4corresponding to the part chosen in the second image information 2, isoutputted to the output device 11 (Step 300). Although the attributeinformation is retrieved once on the basis of the second imageinformation 2 in the above-described process, the processing of Steps100 through 300 may be repeated in response to the choosing of an objectfor which attribute information is to be retrieved. The screen displayexample obtained in Step 300 is shown in FIG. 10(d). In FIG. 10(d), anarea 108 is an area to display the result of a retrieval. A screendisplay example obtained if there is no erasure of the first imageinformation 1 (Step 200 of FIG. 7) is shown in FIG. 10(e).

In the present embodiment, the process of drawing a correspondencebetween images and the process of retrieving attribute information areexecuted as a series of processes. However, the correspondence betweenimages may be stored in the file 6 in advance in the process 210 shownin FIG. 8, and the result 8 of a retrieval may be displayed byretrieving associated attribute information from the file 4 whilereturning to the file 5 and the file 6 in accordance with an input tochoose the object 3 in the second image information 2 displayed on theoutput device 11.

Other modes of operation of the present embodiment will be describedbelow. In the case of the first display mode of images in Step 100 shownin FIG. 6, the first image information 1 and the second imageinformation 2 are separately displayed in area 101 and area 102,respectively, as shown in FIG. 10(a). In a second display mode, thefirst image information 1 overlies the second image information 2 in anarea 109 as shown in FIG. 11(a). Since the first image information 1 andthe second image information 2 approximately correspond to each other inpositional relation, the corresponding parts between the first imageinformation 1 and the second image information 2 are respectivelydisplayed at approximately identical locations by overlying one with theas shown in FIG. 11, so that it becomes easy for the user to find thecorrespondence. Accordingly, since it is possible to simultaneouslychoose a part in the first image information 1 and a part in the secondimage information 2 so that these parts can be linked to each other, anefficient retrieval is realized. FIGS. 11(a) through 11(e) correspond toFIGS. 10(a) through 10(e), respectively.

A third display mode will be described below with reference to FIG. 12.In the second display mode, the first image information 1 overlies thesecond image information 2 in the entire image display area 110. In thesecond modification, an overlying area 111 is set to an area smallerthan the overlain area 110 in which the entire image information isdisplayed, and the first image information 1 partly overlies the secondimage information 2. The overlying area can be moved by using the cursor112 shown in FIG. 12(e), and the shape and size of such an overlyingarea can also be changed by using the cursor 112. By restricting theoverlying area, only an area of interest is displayed so that it becomeseasy for the user to select a necessary object from two pieces of imageinformation which are complicatedly superimposed. Also, if the shape ofthe area 111 is made circular, a zone which expands equidistantly fromthe center can be displayed. If a shape, such as that shown in FIG.12(f), is adopted, it is possible to view a zone which surroundscrossroads. Accordingly, since it is possible to extract a part desiredto be viewed by changing the shape or size of the overlying area, thethird display mode is useful in making a retrieval in multiple stepsaccording to individual purposes. If the third display mode is userchosen in the retrieval process shown in FIG. 6, FIGS. 12(a) through12(d) correspond to FIGS. 10(b) through 10(e).

A fourth display mode will be described with reference to the flowchartshown in FIG. 13 which corresponds to FIG. 6. Although the descriptionof the third display mode has referred to the feature of changing theoverlying area, the fourth display mode is characterized by changing anoverlying area while retrieving image information. First, imageinformation is displayed (Step 400), and it is determined whether thereis an input for changing an overlying area (Step 410). If there is suchan input, the overlying area is changed (Step 420) and the processreturns to Step 400. If there is no such input, a retrieval process isexecuted (Step 430), and the result of the retrieval is displayed (Step440). If a user reviews the result of the retrieval, decides to changethe overlying area and provides an input for changing the overlying area(Step 450), the overlying area is changed (Step 460). If there is nosuch input in Step 450, the process proceeds to Step 470. If there is anend input in Step 470, the present system is brought to an end. If thereis no end input, the process returns to Step 400. Since the user canchange an overlying area between a process of displaying images and aretrieval process, the user can execute the next retrieval process whilereferring to the result of a retrieval of two pieces of imageinformation which are superimposed. Accordingly, it is possible toeasily execute various retrieval processes under varied retrievalconditions according to the results of individual retrievals.

A fifth mode of operation will be described below with reference to theflowchart of FIG. 14 which corresponds to FIG. 6 and the displayexamples shown in FIG. 15. None of the second to fourth modes takesaccount of changing the relative positional relation between two piecesof image information which are to be superimposed. The fifth mode isintended to change the relative positional relation between two piecesof image information in causing them to be superimposed.

First, the first image information 1 which contains characterinformation is displayed over the second image information 2 made up ofseveral areas each surrounded by a thick-line frame, as shown in FIG.15(a) (Step 500). If the user determines that the state in which thefirst image information 1 overlies the second image information 2 isdifferent from a desired state and it is necessary to change the mannerin which the first image information 1 overlies the second imageinformation 2, the user provides an input for changing the relativepositional relation between the first image information 1 and the secondimage information 2. The system determines whether such input has beenprovided (Step 510). If there is such input, the system executes adisplay position changing process (Step 520). As one display positionchanging method, there is a method of choosing one point in the firstimage information 1 by using a cursor 113, moving this point up to anecessary point on the display screen (dragging), and changing a displayposition. If there is no input for changing the display position, aretrieval process for retrieving the attribute information 4 whichcorresponds to the first image information 1 overlying the second imageinformation 2 is executed (Step 530). Then, the result 8 of thisretrieval is displayed (Step 540). If there is no end input, the processreturns to Step 500. If there is an end input, the process is brought toan end. The steps of displaying image information, retrieving anddisplaying the result of the retrieval are similar to the correspondingsteps shown in FIG. 6, and the description thereof is omitted.Incidentally, FIG. 15(b) and FIGS. 15(c) through 15(e) correspond toFIG. 11(a) and FIGS. 11(c) through 11(e), respectively.

The method of changing the display position of image information in theabove-described manner is useful in displaying two pieces of imageinformation in an approximately superimposed state or two pieces ofimage information in a state different from the state desired by a userand retrieving associated attribute information while confirming thecorrespondence therebetween.

With reference to FIG. 16, the sixth mode of operation differs from thefifth mode in that two pieces of images are partly superimposed in arestricted area similarly to the third mode. For an example of theinputting: the first image information 1 displayed as shown in FIG.16(a) is moved to a position, such as that shown in FIG. 16(b), by usingthe cursor 113, and if the position is satisfactory, an OK button 114 isselected to confirm. The subsequent processing of FIGS. 16(c) through16(f) correspond to that of FIGS. 11(b) through 11(e). Thus, even if twoobjects of images do not strictly positionally correspond to each otherare employed, a deviation of the correspondence is reduced by moving oneto easily confirm the correspondence. The correspondence between objectsof two images is input by relatively moving the images to superimposeone object over the other even if entire images do not positionallycorrespond to each other.

When the displayed first and second images overlap, there is more roomto display a wide area or to partly magnify and display a particulararea, as compared with displaying images separately, facilitating theinputting for detailed maps. Image overlapping facilitates thecorrespondence between the first and second images, for efficientretrieval.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been describedin detail, with variations and modifications, further embodiments,variations and modifications are contemplated within the broader aspectsof the present invention, in addition to the advantageous details, inaccordance with the spirit and scope of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A data retrieval method, performed by a data storing,inputting, outputting and handling system, including the stepsof:maintaining attribute information in storage; maintaining first imageinformation in storage and linked with the attribute information;maintaining second image information in storage, which second imageinformation has approximate partial positional correspondence with thefirst image information; receiving identification of a user chosenobject in the second image information as a key; linking the secondimage information to the first image information by the key; retrievingat least some of the attribute information from storage by said linkingstep; and thereafter outputting the at least some of the attributeinformation relating to the object.
 2. A retrieval method employingimage information according to claim 1, including the step of displayingto a user the first image information and the second image informationin a mutually overlying relationship with a substantially alignedpositional correspondence prior to said receiving step.
 3. A retrievalmethod employing image information according to claim 2, including thestep of moving one display of one of the first and second imageinformation relative to another display of the first and second imageinformation in response to a user input to correct the overlyingrelationship prior to said receiving step and after said displayingstep.
 4. A retrieval method employing image information according toclaim 3, wherein said displaying step displays the first imageinformation and the second image information with substantiallyidentical positional and scalar relationships.
 5. A retrieval methodemploying image information according to claim 2;wherein said displayingstep displays the first image information and the second imageinformation with substantially identical positional and scalarrelationships; and further including, in response to said step ofreceiving identification of a user chosen object, the step of changingsaid display of the second image information at a correspondingpositionally related area of the object to provide a visual indicationof a corresponding area in the second image information display.
 6. Aretrieval method employing image information according to claim 1,including the step of displaying to a user the first image informationand the second image information prior to said receiving step.
 7. Aretrieval method employing image information according to claim 6,further comprising, in response to said receiving identification of auser chosen object, the step of changing said display of the secondimage information at a corresponding positionally related area of theobject to provide to a user a visual indication of a corresponding areain the second image information display.
 8. A retrieval method employingimage information according to claim 1, further including the stepsof:displaying the first image information as a display; and storing theidentification of a user chosen object and erasing the display of thefirst image information and the at thereafter displaying the secondimage information and the at least some of the attribute informationwith a displayed correspondence with the object.
 9. A retrieval methodemploying image information according to claim 1,the method furtherincluding the steps of: outputting to a display screen the first imageinformation and the second image information in a mutually overlyingrelationship with a substantially aligned positional correspondence,wherein said outputting step outputs the first image information and thesecond image information with substantially identical positional andscalar relationship; moving one display output of one of the first andsecond image information relative to another of the first and secondimage information in response to a user input to correct the overlyingrelationship prior to said receiving step; outputting to the displayscreen the first image information and the second image informationprior to said receiving step; in response to said receiving step,changing said outputting of the second image information at acorresponding positionally related area of the object to provide to thedisplay screen a visual indication of a corresponding area in the secondimage information; and storing the identification of a user chosenobject and erasing said display of the first image information, andthereafter outputting the second image information and the at least someof the attribute information with an outputted correspondence with theobject.
 10. A retrieval method employing image information according toclaim 1, wherein the object does not exist in the first imageinformation.